UK government continues to milk motorists
UK motorists are again being hit in the pocket with news of a one pence increase in fuel duty brought in by the coalition government on 1 October. This move had already been pencilled in by the previous Labour government although unfortunately, for UK motorists, the coalition government has refused to backtrack on this particular price rise. With a further 0.76 pence charge per litre again pencilled in from 1 January 2011, and an increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20%, UK motorists will be digging deeper and deeper into their pockets.
It is estimated that the UK government will receive around £26 billion from fuel duty in 2010 which is more than double that received by the authorities in the 1995/96 tax year. This perfectly illustrates the massive increase in the cost of running motor vehicles in the UK which is not only hitting consumers but businesses as well. Motorists have for some time been seen as an easy target for the UK authorities because historically protests against fuel duty increases have tended to peter out although the UK motorist of today is very different!
There is every chance that the UK government could become the target of major widespread disruption and protests regarding the fuel duty increase at a time when household budgets and business budgets are being stretched to breaking point.
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